n the dark universe of the 41st millennium there is only war ... or so claim the designers at Games Workshop—the English game company that invented the dark universe to house its games. But as it often does, the gaming universe grew and morphed into something larger than itself, birthing a rich history. Into that rich history came the Black Library's novels.
Most were little more than literary lumps of coal, but from the black dust emerged a diamond. The diamond's name was Dan Abnett, and his series of Gaunt's Ghost novels have rivaled any military science fiction released within the past two years. But in his latest work, titled Double Eagle, Abnett leaves the bolters and power swords of the Ghosts behind in favor of the air war that writhes above them.
In the skies above the Sabat world of Enothis a bloody battle rages, while on the ground the Imperial forces retreat in the face of an onslaught by the forces of Chaos. In the air, the Lightnings, Thunderbolts and Marauders of the Imperium's air forces fly to cover that retreat. The book centers on Brea Jagdea, first introduced in Abnett's The Guns of Tanith, as she leads her squadron of flyers, but also weaves stories about Junior Flight Officer Darrow, a young pilot of enormous talent; Capt. Oskar Viltry, a veteran who longed for an end to war; and Vander Marquall, pilot of Thunderbolt serial Nine-Nine ... the Double Eagle.
More than gaming fiction
Abnett tells a good tale. He has a David Drake-ish grasp of the frightening realities of war, and whether recounting the infantry and tank battles of his previous novels or the slashing air combat of Double Eagle, he makes war so real that you want to duck. Jagdea's charges slip, bob, weave and roll, laser bolts flashing by their windscreens, their own bolters thundering in reply. It's so believable you can almost feel the gut-wrenching G forces. Better still, it's an easily digestible believability. Abnett doesn't analyze each engagement frame by frame, spewing technical details of the aircraft involved, but rather sets a scene and lets the action roll.
Surprisingly, Abnett may be at his best not on the battlefield but in the heads and hearts of his characters. You can feel Oskar Viltry's fresh love for a hardworking maiden, sense the fright in young Darrow's veins and laugh at Marquall's immaturity. Bottom line, the combat is enriched because you actually care about the characters involved in it. That makes young Marquall's fate even more curious.
Abnett spends plenty of ink bringing the likable but immature pilot to life. He's young, he wants glory, and he wants to succeed, but he blames everyone but himself when he fails. Finally, Marquall's crew chief confronts him with his shortcomings, yet in what should have been a pivotal encounter little is resolved.
And therein lies the book's major flaw. The plot moves forward, and you care about the characters, but they are never truly changed. Yes, Viltry's resolution feels satisfying, but Darrow feels underdeveloped, and Jagdea appears to be more a bystander than a wing commander. Double Eagle is a good, at times even great, read but ultimately not a great book. Abnett is a master of action, and a talented writer, but Double Eagle is not his best work.
